Do you remember when you were a kid and Groundhog Day was an actual "holiday" that we learned about in school and celebrated?

The idea is that if the groundhog, "Punxsutawney Phil," comes out of his burrow and can't see his shadow because it is overcast or cloudy, then we can expect an early spring. (Yoo-hoo!)

If he sees his shadow because the sun is shining, however, he will head back into his burrow, and we can expect another six weeks of winter. (Ugh.)

The "holiday" has its grounding in folklore, but did you know that it has been recognized in the U. S. since 1887?

What I really want to speak to today, however, is the lesson (or moral) of the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day that starred Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Do you remember it? Have you seen it?

If you haven't seen it, you should. It is entertaining for sure, but as I thought about today being Groundhog Day, I was reminded of the movie, and that set me to thinking about how we can sometimes be like the film's major character, Phil Connors. Like him, we can get caught up in a time loop of sorts, going through the motions and pretty much repeating our same (negative) behaviors and patterns and experiencing pretty much the same life experiences every single day, day-after-day and year-after-year for our entire lives! What a wake-up call!!

I would hope that none of us are as self-centered, selfish, and manipulative as the movie character Phil. How often is it, however, that we can look back over a week or a month or a year, even, and it is just a blur because we are simply going through the motions and repeating [bad] patterns of behavior even when we know better?

In the movie, Phil Connors woke up every day, and it was still February 2nd. No matter what he did, including suicide, it didn't make any difference until he ultimately changed his patterns and his behavior. Until he let go of his destructive patterns of selfishness and manipulation and stopped trying to manipulate the situations and people around him, he was doomed to repeat the same day and make the same mistakes over and over again.

Perhaps our calendars don't get stuck on the same day, but what about your behavior or you outlook on life changes from day-to-day? Are you stuck in a rut of negative or self-destructive behavior that warrants being changed?

I read that some individuals who were involved with the making of the movie, Groundhog Day, contend that Phil Connors experienced the repeat of February 2nd for 10,000 years!

It took that long to break the time loop because he was so blind to the behaviors that were keeping him stuck and disconnected from the people around him.

Things didn't change for him until he stopped trying to manipulate everything and everyone around him and he started to use what he knew about how the day was going to unfold to help other people instead of himself.

Once he let go of his old persona--one that was selfish to the core--and started acting like a decent human being--he was able to break the time loop. And in the end, he also got the girl!

So, I am asking you... what "loop" of self-destructive behavior(s) have you gotten caught up in, and what will it take to break free?

Perhaps today is a good day for making a decision to break loose of those old patterns that no longer serve you and experience the kind of awakening that Phil Connors experienced in the end of the movie.

Okay, I know it was a movie, but there is definitely a lesson there, don't you think?

Speaking of patterns, do you know someone who is stuck in a dead-end job or a career that no longer serves them?

Do you know someone who has been put out of work because of a company closure or downsizing?

Do you know someone who is just simply bored or burnt out in their current professional endeavor?

If so, I have a new free gift that I would like to offer you. It is called, "10 Thing to Consider if You Are Ready to Change Your Job or Career."